Reiman Gardens hosted their 14th annual Garden Arts Festival on Sunday, July 9 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Over 60 new and returning artists came from near and far to showcase their garden and nature inspired work. The art consisted of a high value items consisting of garden art, paintings, woodwork, home decor, jewelry, fabric, glass, and pottery to name a few.

Crowds of people came to see and possibly purchase the work of the exhibitors, to buy items at the Christina Reiman Butterfly Wing or the Gift Shop and just to see the beautiful summer flowers.

Mika Sorak displayed a colorful metal garden of flowers for visitors to observe or purchase.

Sorak has been making flowers now for about 10 years. She went to a technical welding school at Indian Hills Community College to learn welding but the flower making was self-taught through trial and error.

“I draw them all out and then I hand-cut them out with a plasma cutter. Then I’ll shape them, put them together, and then paint them,” Sorak said.

Sorak, of Eldon, Iowa does shows all around Iowa all the way from Mother’s Day to Christmas. She also owns her own art studio called, “Thymelyglass Studios.” Sorak has come to the festival for four years now and absolutely loves it.

Kay Hazen’s showcased her nature-inspired jewelry collection, “Terra Fleur.” The stones showcased in her jewelry she has collected from all around the world. One couldn’t help but stop and look at the stones that shimmered so brightly in the sun at Reiman Gardens.

Hazen’s jewelry had a unique, natural look about them. From metal to leather, all of the jewelry showcased some sort of stone. “I use a lot of raw, natural pieces from the earth, I use pieces from allover the world.” Hazen said. “Gem stones, crystals, geodes, I try to keep a lot of them in their raw, natural state. I do wire-wrappings, silversmithing. I do metal work, I do riveted bracelets. I also use a little bit of leather.”

Not only are the stones beautiful, they also have metaphysical properties that can help heal you. Each different stone has a different purpose. According to Hazen, Obsidian can help to ground you, while Larimar is very light and airy and can help to lift you up.

Hazen, currently of Fairfield, Iowa, has come to the Festival for two years now and plans to come again. “I love it here,” said Hazen.

The weather for the festival was hot, and sunny. A perfect afternoon for the Garden Art Festival and the city of Ames.